After The Vyerni
by IfUKnewUCouldNotFail
Summary: What happened after Tom and Rachel got back aboard the Nathan James after returning from destroying the Vyerni? Sequel to 'Passing The Note'. NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Spoilers: Two Sailors Walk Into A Bar…

A/N: After re-watching both 'Two Sailors…' and 'Trials' I was slightly stunned to notice how little actual communication or even contact occurs between our favorite couple between _that _kiss and _that _hug… at least onscreen. The way he acted all protective of her while getting her off the Russian ship was nice and all but I am convinced that a whole lot more must have gone down in the interim between those episodes once they where safely back aboard and this is my explanation as to what.

A/N 2: While it wasn't my intention in the beginning, this very much turned into a sequel to my other story 'Passing The Note'. So read that one first if you like, but know neither story needs the other to understand what is going on…you just need to have seen the relevant episode…which I'm fairly certain, we all have. :-D

Disclaimer: I do not own Last Ship.

LSLSLS

It was late morning by the time the crew of the Nathan James noticeably started to come down from their adrenaline highs of the previous night's activities, and that included those crew not even directly involved in the mission…because the entire crew had been holding their collective breath for them. And why not? They would have all suffered the same fate if things had gone south, which they all too easily could have.

Tom didn't want to hear that even with the loss of Cossetti the mission had been an overwhelming success. He knew it was true…he just didn't want to hear it. Right now he was still weighed down by the all 'what ifs' and the loss of a young man who had died for him while trying to prove himself to him…even though he had never had too.

Mike had been quick to provide his reasoning's for all the decisions he'd made…_all the orders he'd disobeyed_. He had listened, not said much, just listened. Truthfully he was starting to feel the energy reserves and adrenaline that had got him through the last 48 hours start to evaporate on him as well.

Tom was about ready to call it night despite the time of day. Everyone involved in the mission was on stand down, and if they were smart and following 'recommendations'…asleep. As the only one of the three of them that had gotten _some_ sleep in the last two days, Garnet was in charge of the bridge. Mike was on call. After seeing their Russian nemesis of the last long month blow out of the water with his own eyes…he was _relatively_ confident that he could afford to shut off for a while without risking all hell breaking loose while he was down.

There was just one thing left undone, one conversation as yet un-conversed that meant he wasn't going to get a wink of sleep…and he knew it. It involved a certain scientist who had apparently run and hid practically as soon as they had got back aboard because that was how fast she had disappeared from his sight this morning, much too his displeasure. One minute she had been just behind his right shoulder…the next…poof. A logical part of his brain told him now was not the time to do this, when they were both exhausted and frankly still a little emotionally reeling after recent events… the mission…their rescue… _personal_ aspects of both…

Another part of him told him that she was probably asleep like everyone else who had had a very busy night. He immediately scoffed at that part of his brain, as far as he could tell the woman didn't sleep at all, and sleep after she had been ordered too? Ha! He had had yet another lesson last night in how good she was at following orders. The frustrating woman was probably fighting sleep just to spite him.

And now she didn't even have the excuse of racing the clock for a vaccine to justify her twenty plus hour working days. That was another thing he had learned from Mike during their pretty one sided debrief. It hadn't been a bluff; she really had created the vaccine for the virus. She had done it.

Step one in saving the world.

And he was on his way to find her and yell at her.

Yep…he really probably was too tired, angry, frustrated and generally pissed off to handle this situation well…didn't seem like it was going to stop him though…as his legs further hastened their already fast pace towards her lab.

The lab was the last place she should be right now, so of course it was the first place his feet took him in their quest to find her. And right they were. He crossed the threshold, acknowledging…barely…the guard that was one of a chosen trusted handful that had been stationed at this post since he had first learned the importance of the contents of his helo bay, both in terms of the work being done here and the woman doing it.

Tom noted the guard's almost excited look upon seeing him, he was confused for a moment before realizing that the man was glad to see him alive and well and walking around the ship. Aside from any regard and thus happiness the man might have for him personally, it was a sign that they had won, defeated their recent foe…and he knew that for most of his crew that was cause for immediate…if subdued…celebration.

After answering the man's pleased look with an acknowledging nod, he entered the lab, taking the time to close and seal the access behind them. He wanted…needed…privacy with her. He was quite sure they were unlikely to be interrupted by Tophet, the only other person aside from Mike, who had clearance to enter the lab unescorted.

The other man currently displaying absolutely no desire to be separated from his newly reclaimed wife and daughter. A situation he could well understand…if he managed to get _his_ family back…_all of them_…then…

It was best not to focus on such thoughts. No until it was time to find out if they could become a reality or not…a time that _just_ _might_ be approaching…

She was here of course, suited up and working in the quarantine area. It didn't seem like she had noticed his entry, such was the continued captivation she was displaying over her work.

He moved to stand directly before her, as near as he could with so many layers of quarantine plastic between them. His gaze locked on her. He cleared his throat…. loudly. She jumped…somewhat nervously…and guiltily…her eyes snapping up to meet his… a look somewhat reminiscent of a deer caught in headlights… at least until she lowered them again, pretending to return her attention to her work. He almost smiled at that. It was the goal of every commander to make their subordinates distinctly uncomfortable when they were in trouble.

And while she may not be his subordinate exactly…she most decidedly _was_ in trouble. And by the look on her face in that first quick instant…she knew it.

That look didn't last long…quickly buried under layers of confidence and bravado as she drew herself up to sit straighter on her work stool. Bringing her gaze squarely back up in a doomed attempt to stare him down.

"Can I help you with something, Captain?"

"Step outside please, Doctor." He tone was cool but assured, broaching no argument…a memo it was apparent she had failed to receive when she began to…wait for it…argue.

"I have a lot of work…"

"Outside, Doctor. Now." He interrupted.

Before she could protest further he turned and walked away from her, towards her desk, the usual place for their usually more frivolous discourses. There, he then made himself comfortable leaning against the wall and waited for her to join him. The notion that she would ignore him unthinkable…or such was the outward appearance he quite deliberated presented.

For a moment she didn't move, just stayed statue still staring at him. It was clear the moment she gave in, she huffed loudly and began clearing her workstation quickly and in a rather vexed manner. He watched her as she proceeded to go through departing quarantine procedure, eventually striping off her paper covering and joining him.

"There, Captain! I'm _outside_!" She was on the defensive. "Now, can you tell me what was so impossible for you to communicate to me while I was _inside _and still able to quickly and easily get back to my wor…"

She suddenly wasn't able to continue further. All the breath being forced out of her lungs as she was caught up in the urgent and all encompassing embrace of a man _much_ larger and stronger than herself.

His moved stunned her. His hold on her only increased as the moments passed. He gripped her to him even tighter, her feet now not making any real weight bearing contact with the floor. He wasn't yet impeding her breathing…too much… but he was close. He was holding on to her as if for dear live. Hers or hiss, she wasn't sure. Her mind was abuzz with the implications. She had felt sure he had been just about to start laying in to her, initiating a serious dressing down of her actions as if she were his unruly subordinate.

He had his face buried in the narrow space between her neck and shoulder now. Her mind finally catching up with the unexpected turn events had taken, she relaxed her tensed body and allowed it to mould against his. She brought her own arms up to encompass his large back, returning his embrace heartily.

His move stunned him. But the intense emotional response that seemed to pour from every cell in his body at their first contact shocked him more. He hadn't intended to hug her…or rather grab her and hold her so tightly she couldn't ever get away from him again… But the moment he saw her there before him…safe…unharmed…beautifully angry… he had _had _to have her in his arms…space between their bodies anathema to his minds current desire to assure itself in every way that she was in fact safe and unharmed.

He belated realized that she was in fact hugging him back…and strongly too. He was immensely glad of it, but ashamed that he had not even taken the time to notice if his complete physical attack of her personal space and her person was welcomed or not.

"You're alive…" He heard himself pronounce softly into her neck, needing to say it out loud apparently to convince himself of its essential truth.

"Yes." She replied after a moments pause, the word whispered into his shirt. _That_ was what this was about? He had lost control like this over concern for _her_ safety? Because the man holding her as if she was his last lifeline was not in his normal state of complete command and control…far from it.

As it very much seemed that it was concern for _her_ wellbeing that had him in such a clearly distressed state... as confusing and foreign as the notion was to her, she hurried to reassure him further of her welfare.

Drawing herself out of his tight embrace, their bodies still in contact, she craned her neck up significantly, as she had to, to meet his eyes. "I'm _fine_, Captain. Really and truly fine."

He released her from his crushing hug to his chest but did not release her fully from contact with his form…he couldn't…for reason he wasn't going to closely investigate right now.

"Do you have any idea what it would have done to me if you had gotten hurt…or _killed_…while trying to save _me_?" The clear anxiety at the very prospect was saturating his every emotively toned word.

She studied the man before her, almost as if seeing him for the first time. In some respects that was true, he had always worn a certain amount of that standard issue military persona in her presence until today…she couldn't see a trace of it right now. Before her was just the man… and without that armor, with the normal shields firmly in the lowered position…there was so much more to see…

"I am beginning to get an idea…" It was very true. She was beginning to get all sorts of ideas. She had known from the get go that she found him very attractive…knew that attraction had grown past mere attraction on _her_ part at least in the last month…but she had never thought that he…

She shook herself from the thought.

"I wish I could tell you that I was sorry for what I did, Captain, but I cannot. I still feel as I did then, that it was the right thing to do, and for the right reasons. The safest way for all of us and not any one individual…isn't that the military hive mentality way?"

She paused, continuing her study of his handsome worry lined features for a few more brief moments. He didn't look like he was planning on answering her mostly rhetorical question …he looked like he was trying to stare into her very soul… A feeling that was distinctly uncomfortable on one level and stirringly welcome on whole other one.

She felt a surge of remorse for the man before her, not due to her actions, but for the distress they caused him, she never wanted to make him suffer.

"I can tell you that I am very sorry that I caused you to worry. The last thing I would ever want to do is cause you pain." She spoke the words solemnly and with meaning.

"I told you not to risk yourself _ever_ again…for _any_ reason…that you were_ too important_…"

"But after the breakthrough with the vaccine that was no longer true…"

"**_It never stopped being true_****!"**

She jumped slightly at his very loud and very sharp statement. She was still in his arms, as he had not fully released his hold on her hips, and her hands that had been resting lightly on his biceps tightened with his words. Both reactions were apparently sufficient to clear his mind of anger and draw his absolute attention to the negative physical reaction she had experienced at his outburst. He had _scared_ her.

With a look of utter shock and remorse, he abruptly released her as if burned and stepped backwards…breaking their contact fully…

"Oh god, Rachel, I'm sorry."

It was then he suddenly felt cold…far too much cold then could be explained purely by external environmental conditions. As he watched her, first steady herself and then draw her arms tightly around herself after their abrupt separation, he wondered if maybe she was experiencing the same odd reaction to their sudden physical parting that he was… No, if she was feeling the same as he was right now it would be because of the way he had just treated her…

He couldn't believe he had done that. It was contrary to his every moral conviction. He knew he had raised his voice to her before, but back then the situation and their relationship had been entirely professionally based. It was _not _anymore and that change made all the difference when it came to the manner in which it was suitable to address her when angry.

Raising his voice in ire at a woman he was holding in his embrace…as only a man holds a woman…_for whatever reason…_ was a distinctly deplorable move for any man.

While taking a moment to acclimate herself to the fast changes of his mood…first his anger…and then just as sudden; contrition… she gather her voice to respond…to placate.

"There's nothing to apologize for. You were worried about me…and the continued quest for a tried and tested vaccine." She rationalized…to them both.

"I scared you."

"You startled me…and only slightly… it is not even worth mentioning again."

After a moment of consideration, he decided to take her at her words…for now…but also to proceed with caution… with more awareness of both his words and actions… There was something about this woman that made him act without proper consideration to either.

Also having apparently considered the topic closed for now, he watched the physical manifestation of her pulling herself together mentally. A few perimeter defenses that he now realized had been dropped popping back up.

"I can see you're not in the right headspace to call a win a win yet, and with the loss of your man I can understand how it might take some time. I can easily tell how important all your people are to you. I believe it's an essential part of what makes you such an exceptional Captain… But I also know that nobody reaches your position in any military or civilian leadership structure like this one without making some peace with the notion that they _will _sometimes lose their people…not might, _will_."

On a roll, and before he had time to intersect, she continued.

"As treacherous as the statement sounds, one good man's loss was a light price for what was achieved... and I think you can already see that…it's just the noble man you are doesn't want to admit such an ignoble fact. But you know it could have been all of us at any point. Ruskov had demonstrated painfully clearly the lengths of his madness. The lengths he was more than willing to go to… His every desired objective repugnant to ours…"

She wished she knew if her words were getting through to him, but he seemed to be deliberately showing no sign.

"If we had listened to your order and accepted your words and your loss, rode off into the sunset as you so theatrically suggested… How long do you really think that reality would have lasted? How long before an even more pissed off Ruskov caught up with us, having likely tired of playing games and started taking even more direct action against us?"

She didn't give him a chance to answer that one.

"Not long. That is the answer, Captain. Not long at all. We would have lost you…and Tex, and it would have been for nothing. This situation…and the actions that those involved, including myself, decided on and took in your absence offered us a unique strategic advantage over Ruscov…the first opportunity of such since our first unfortunate introduction to that lunatic. It was a unique opportunity that could be used successfully to eliminate a great threat to us…a great threat to the human race!"

"It was a risk." Tom spoke the key words that were still spinning in his mind, representing every example of everything that could have gone so wrong…

"And Commander Slattery was absolutely right to take that risk."

"But he shouldn't have risked **_you_**!"

"On the contrary…he would have been stupid not too! Without wanting to sound conceited…I was the key to this mission and its success and you damn well know it…whether you want to admit it or not. Without me it was a suicide mission…for us **_all_**." The implication was clear, she didn't think anyone would have survived the missions failure...including those supposedly safely back from the battlefield on the Nathan James... in the long term anyway. He _hated _that she was probably right, but was nowhere near ready to concede.

"The risk was too high!"

"I disagree, the risk of inaction was too high. Answer me this Mr. Student of military history…yes, I've seen your bookshelf… Was_ any _great victory in history _ever_ achieved without corresponding great risk?"

He deflated somewhat at that. She saw it and tapering off her verbal tirade accordingly. She could see that it was all coming back to her…it was _her_ inclusion in the mission…_her _risk…that was giving him the most difficulty in coming to terms with what was done.

"I really am _fine_, Captain, really fine. A lot better then yesterday in actual fact, all of us are."

He gave her an odd look that beside anything else prompted her to continue and explain.

"If you let yourself consider it, there's some very important and very positive changes have occurred with all this, today we finally have a vaccine…yet untested…but a vaccine…and with that increased hope for the entire human race … Oh, and on a personal note, I no longer have my own personal super villain chasing me around the globe, trying to make me his personal slave…so yeah, I am definitely feeling better off today then yesterday."

He didn't conceal his small smile fast enough, the corner of his mouth uplifting slightly before being schooled. By the quirk of her own lips, it was clear she had caught the flicker and labeled it a victory. With a small knowing smile she continued sharing her estimations of their situation.

"Aside from Ruskov's rather _disturbing _preoccupation with getting his hands on me _specifically_, the man had no desire to help the human race survive this crisis, quite to the contrary he had a ship full of nukes that he had proved he had no compunction in employing on whim. Our aim is to save the human race and thus removing the somewhat massive threat that Roskov posed was very much an aim in line with that end goal."

He was forced to accept her words…the knowledge that their plan had worked out heavily in their favor…Cossetti's less not withstanding…helped him in that feat…a lot.

He could see by the look on her face that she could see she was getting too him. Damn woman read him too well…but then…he could read her pretty well too. And_ that_ was not something he was doing any more reading into right now.

She had a small guilty but amused smile on her face when she continued. It concerned him.

"Besides…. you weren't there." Deliberately suppressed humor adorned her features…. with maybe a touch of guilty embarrassment in the mix.

Now he was intrigued.

"Weren't there when?" He asked slowly and cautiously.

"When I made the breakthrough with the vaccine. When I looked through that microscope and saw that the monkey I have injected with the virus only hours before was completely free of the clear of it. You were the one I wanted there, the one I wanted to share it with. But you weren't there…I had to go find you."

She bit her lip nervously, waiting for him to understand the implication…the admission.

She lifted her eyes upward to be able to meet his, they were standing closer then a minute ago... thought she really wasn't sure which one of them had closed the gap...

Anxiously she waited.

Waited to see if the new ground she had only just attained was going to be yanked out from under her at her admission.

Silence continued to reign, her Captain giving her nothing to offer her clues as to his current thought processes.

But then he spoke…

TBC

A/N: Hang tight guys, I know things have been left unsaid. There is at least one more chapter in the works; I promise…I will try not to leave you waiting for it too long. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and remember…reviews are fic fuel. ;-D


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I just wanted to say a big thank you to all of my reviewers, and for the favorite's/follows too, I do try to get back to each and every one of you but if I miss you for some reason or you are a guest reviewer… Thank you for reading and thank you for taking the time to leave a few words…it means a lot. :-D

LSLSLS

Rachel knew the moment he realized what she was saying…admitting to. That _maybe _saving the world hadn't been the _only_ reason she had volunteered for his rescue mission. With gazes locked, her words hung heavily in the air between them. Her lips were still quirked but there was a worrisome edge to her smile…she didn't want him to go back to chastising her…but she thought he might.

"You had to come find me, ha?"

He deliberately and with effort gave absolutely nothing away with either his demeanor or tone. It put her on the defensive.

"As I said there were numerous very good and well thought out and reasons why the mission and my part in it was a very good idea… for everyone…but yeah…I wanted you back…and that may have played _a_ _small part _in my actions too."

He reached out and took her hand in his, grasped it tightly and drew her body and her gaze to him as he spoke next.

"Small part?"

"Umm… somewhere between small and medium maybe…but like I said there were many other…"

"…Good reasons, yes I heard you, tell me this…while we're being forthrightly honest with each other…"

He paused for affect; to throw her off guard… he wanted the unpracticed and considered answer to this question.

"Whose idea was the note?"

She smiled, victorious. He had not been nearly specific enough in his question to get the answer she knew he truly desired.

"Lieutenant Green's" She answered promptly and proficiently.

"And whose idea was _how_ _to pass_ it?"

Damn. Caught. Her victorious expression disappeared to be replaced by a much more embarrassed one.

She hadn't been this embarrassed when she had suggested the pass… or rather the method of said pass, to Green, Burk and Slattery. Quite the opposite, she had internally derided all three men for their clear discomfort with the idea of her using a small measure of female sexuality in a military operation.

Seeing her reaction, in that moment Tom _absolutely_ had his answer. But damn if he wasn't going to make her say it out loud. He _really_ wanted to hear her say it…and hear her reasoning's for why. In fact if he were to take stock he'd say he wanted to dissect that particular incident just a little too much.

Hmm…. Nope, wasn't going to stop him.

"Doctor?" He prompted with only partially hidden amusement.

She studied him then, relaxing when she caught his small hidden smile and realized she wasn't in trouble for the kiss…he was teasing her about it.

"I was my idea." She owned up to the truth she knew he had already figured out on his own…probably had a fair idea before he had even asked the question. He knew his people well after all, and from the reactions of Green, Burk and Slattery it was unlikely they were going to come up with an idea like that on their own…and he likely knew exactly that.

"Really?" He pretended surprise. Clearly aware he wasn't fooling her for a second.

"Oh please, drop the act, you know it was me. It certainly wasn't Slattery…not Green or Burk either for that matter. Based on their reactions, I think it was rather unlikely that that course of action was going to occur to any of them. You'd have thought I was suggesting seducing the Pope!"

He did chuckle at that. It was true that military operational procedure shied away from such decidedly non-military tactics…but that didn't mean they always did, or that such tactics couldn't prove highly effective when used correctly…as Rachel's stunt had indeed proved.

"They gave you trouble?"

"No, not really, they just took a little time to…reorganize their thinking."

He could just imagine.

"Do you believe I was wrong, Captain?"

"No. But I do have one question."

She eyed him warily but indicated for him to proceed with his question.

"Why me? Why me and not Tex? Was I your target or was I simply the closest?"

"You by-the-book soldier types really are all cut from the same cloth aren't you? That was the same question the doubting trio asked first…when they regained vocal function that is."

Tom would have paid money to be a fly on the wall for that little chat, it sounded high in entertainment value. Not that he was going to be distracted by her clear attempt to avoid his question.

"So it was me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"As I explained to your doubting minions, you were the obvious preferred choice…"

He raised an eyebrow. She continued.

"…Because being the man and the leader that you are I believed that you would be much more likely to be able to play catch up a lot faster than Tex. Captain, I pushed a knife into your mouth with my tongue for Christ's sake! …Not a maneuver that holds a lot of margin for error! …Especially when attempting to be so covertly."

"Let's forget Tex's extremely high likelihood to confuse my motives for a just a moment…even thought that was a factor that had to be considered. He's just isn't sober enough to be the best choice for something like this. I have no doubt that he's a good soldier for a fight and I am not saying that he is in any way unintelligent…but the attributes of a covert operative for a covert mission…he possesses not a one. He likes to fight his enemy…face to face…not play mind games with them."

"And I do?"

"I don't think you like it necessarily. Good thing too…problems occur when military men enjoy the fight too much. War is a necessary evil in this world…not something to take pleasure in. "

"You're preaching to the converted."

"And I'm gad of it. The point is you _can _do it, you've been doing it since Ruscov first tracked us down…you met him on the mental battlefield first…outwitted him…with few shots even fired… few lives lost. You have a leader's astuteness, not just a warriors strength and instinct."

Completing her explanation, she took an overdue deep breath and waited for his response, his counter arguments…they didn't come…only silence did. It was uncomfortable silence too… for her… she felt the need to fill it. His stare bored into her, but he made no move to speak.

She considered that his pause was likely another device of the incisive leader she had just complemented… a natural ploy to put your opponent on guard…make them do all the talking…disclose without thought. Looks like it was going to work too.

"Answer me this, Captain, was I wrong?"

"Wrong in what?" His tone was unidentifiable.

"Wrong to pass the note…and the blade, to _you_. How quickly did _you_ understand what I was doing and why?"

There was a pause…they used it to consider each other…their eyes not leaving one another's.

"Pretty quick. Hard not too." His words held a note of concession in them.

"For you maybe, do you believe Tex would have partaken in that kiss…_and the pass_…as instantaneously and seamlessly as you did? Your honest answer, please."

Silence.

"…Perhaps not quite as quickly..."

"And that there is reason enough for the choice I made. Too much was at stake not to take the slightest advantage we had on offer to us." She was adamant in her words, adamant he understand and…forgive her?"

"I can grant you that. It's not the only thing that concerns me about what happened…what could have happened…not by a long shot actually."

"What is?" She was curious; he had gotten serious all of a sudden.

"You know that if things had gone sideways and Ruskov had been left with both of us as his prisoners, he would have used us against each other…tortured each of us, probably in front of one another…. believing our personal relationship to be to his distinct advantage."

She understood his change of mood now.

"Yes, I admit there was a foreseeable danger in the long term…but one that was accepted given its considerable advantage in the short term. We're back to that talk we had on risks... sometimes you have to take them."

"I don't like it."

"None of us liked it. But action had to be taken, and it worked out. We did it. There is real hope right now."

He looked liked he accepted her words but with great difficulty. She watched him as he squeezed his eyed tightly shut…his focus seemingly inwards…organizing his thought…controlling his reactions…his emotions…

"Can I ask you something, Tom?"

That got his attention pretty fast…the use of his first name. He quickly opened his eyes and immediately indicated for her to proceed.

"Are you upset with me for perhaps more personal reasons…? I know you're married and very much hoping your wife is out there still, alive and healthy…we all are…for your sake…but…"

"But?"

"…but I was the one that discarded your marital status as an irrelevancy…as far as our mission and your rescue were concerned…It must be extremely difficult for you…the separation…the not knowing…and then there is the fact that I am a large reason for both…"

"Rachel, stop."

"No, please let me get this out."

After a brief contemplative pause, he bowed his head in a gesture of begrudging consent.

"I just wanted to make sure that you knew that…while we _both_ might know logically that what we did was for the best…the safest course of action for _literally_ everyone… I wanted you to know that I am sorry for my part in what I think must be something very difficult for you to acclimate yourself to on a_ personal_ level. You're a very loyal man, almost to a fault sometimes. I think there is a part of you whispering that what we did was a betrayal of her…despite the circumstances…but that part is wrong, Tom. What we did was directly related to getting you back home to her…to them…with a vaccine…that is what you need to focus on... not any guilt you might mistakenly feel… because there is absolutely none to be found here that is on _you_."

She smiled at him, reassuringly…lovingly.

"I promise you, Tom. Nobody who knows you…which I feel like I now do…would ever think for a single moment that you would betray anyone for any reason…much less your wife…you are one of the good ones…and just to prove my theorem…you're also taken… The good ones are _always_ taken."

She tried to end on a light note… It backfired; his already penetrating gaze intensified even further…feeling for all the world like he was trying to looking into her soul.

In that moment he felt an overwhelming urge to tell her the truth…headless of any and all consequences.

"Rachel." He spoke her name softly… he still wasn't used to using it and it sounded strange on his tongue…strange but nice…

"Hmm?"

"You're wrong about something."

She tilted her head, a relatively serene expression on her features, she knew he wasn't about to get agro at her about anything…they were past that now… but still she was curious as to what he had to say so she patiently waited for him to continue.

"I'm not feeling guilty about our kiss."

That did surprise her; she had thought she had read him quite well in this particular instance. She didn't know quite how to respond to that…still she needed to so…

"Well…I'm glad…" She started but he interrupted her.

"I feel guilty for what that kiss made me feel."

She blinked at him…several times…that was shockingly close to an admission that he…

"What did it make you feel…?"

"Too much…. and not enough…for a married man."

She understood him then. They were very much on the same page. But one they could not move from. They could not move forward, and if he was anything like her, backtracking emotionally would be well nigh impossible too…she knew…she had tried.

She was silent for a few moments proceeding his revelation, he watched her digest his words…his admission. But unfortunately his ability to read her like a book had apparently chosen this highly inconvenient time to pack it in.

Time for truth…time to find out if he had just damaged what they had…what little they were allowed to have.

"Are we ok? Are we going to be ok? I _need_ us to be…"

"Tom, we're not ok…"

His gaze fell in sadness at her words, even as his jar tightened in an effort to control his emotions and accept her words…it was her choice, her right.

He started suddenly at the first contact of her hand brushing gently against his face. Of their own volition his eye snapped upward to meet her gaze…questioningly.

And his confusion only grew when he was met with the warmest smile he had ever seen grace this woman's features…she was so beautiful…

She drew herself up and closer to him. Their hands still joined tightly, her other palm still gently caressing his cheek, her warm gentle smile still enlivening her beauty. She must be standing on tiptoes because when she spoke her next words, her lips were mere inches from his.

"What we are Tom, is so much better than ok, we are partners…always."

With her words, a vast plethora of feelings swept over him. They included, but were not limited too; relief, sorrow, respect, anxiety, affection…and love.

"Always?"

"Always." She repeated definitively. And as she did so she used the continued contact of their bodies to draw herself further up and him further down to her so that she was able to make her lips meet…his cheek. She placed the most gentle but longer than strictly customary kiss on his cheek, a mere inch from the corner of his own mouth.

His eyes closed of their own accord at the sting of ecstasy that the _almost _completely platonic gesture brought to sing down his nerve endings.

How did something with a distinct element of wrongness feel so completely right? Everything he believed about love and loyalty told him it shouldn't even be possible.

The extended length of time the contact of soft lips to rough skin lasted, made him think that her reaction was distinctly similar to his own. A thought he wanted to embrace as truth and discard as fiction in equal measure.

When she ended the contact of lips and skin, she drew back only enough for their gazes to unite once more.

"We'll be ok, Tom. Everything will be ok now. We'll move ahead, which we can do now undisturbed…we'll accomplish our mission, we'll save the world…. _And_ _we'll get your family back_."

THE END

A/N: See, I promised I wouldn't let you wait too long. Just had some loose ends to tie up. Hope you enjoyed this one, I'm pretty happy with it. As always, please review and let me know what you think. Feedback really does help my creative process. :-)


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